Connected Cars and Rural Carriers: What is the Opportunity? - by Joan Engebretson, Telecompetitor

As auto manufacturers gear up for the connected car, rural wireless carriers will want to keep tabs on new developments in this area as there may be some opportunities for them. People who live outside of a rural carrier’s serving area increasingly could be using the rural carrier’s network as they drive through the area. But there are a lot more issues that will have to be resolved before the picture becomes clear, as a webinar sponsored by the Competitive Carriers Association and business mapping company Mosaik Solutions on August 7 made clear.

There are three types of connectivity for connected cars, according to Chip Strange, vice president of products and technology for Mosaik Solutions. The most familiar of these may be embedded technology built into the car, such as General Motors’ Onstar system. But other options include tethered and integrated connectivity.

As Strange explained in an email to Telecompetitor, “Integrated means that the user’s smartphone is integrated with the vehicle’s smart system. It’s like Bluetooth now with cars. When you get in and start the car, the car recognizes your phone and enables you to make calls through the audio system and stream music from your phone to the car as well. This is practically the same for integrated connectivity. The car will load the apps from the phone, so the user does not have to go back and forth from device to car. . . The user can control it using the car.”

Tethering is more like tethering your phone to your laptop, said Strange. Unlike with the other two options, he said “It’s not seamless because you have to perform a few manual steps to connect the two devices together.”

The integrated and tethered options use the end user’s existing wireless carrier for connectivity, while the embedded approach – at least for now – requires the end user to use the service chosen by the car maker. Read the full article here.